After spending fifteen (15) years out in the cold, Harambee stars are expected to show their muscle in the upcoming AFCON but this has come after a cost by a number of entities.
Gaming firm SportPesa has committed to financially bridge the national football team Harambee Stars in breaking their World Cup jinx in 2022.
Stars have never qualified for the global tournament since it’s inception in 1930 and the firm which has been drumming up support for the team to seal a place in the 2022 edition set for Qatar has insisted on putting more efforts to achieve the milestone.
SportPesa busted into the local football market in July 2015 as the official Kenya Premier League title sponsor after the expiry of the preceding three-year long league’s sponsorship deal with East African Breweries.
The bookmaker outlined it’s blueprint of aiding the country in making it to the World Cup and identified the 2022 finals as their target as well as pushing the team to muscle for their return to the African Cup of Nations after 15 years in the cold.
The short term plan of returning to the continental stage came to pass last year after Stars booked a place in the finals planned for Egypt with a group stage match to spare, an achievement which SportPesa believes to have immensely contributed to.
The gaming firm argues that their initial partnership with Football Kenya Federation and funding a number of activities both in the country and beyond, has had the impact felt with the national team.
Through their Chief Executive Officer, Ronald Karauri, the firm highlights sponsoring the league where outstanding players were largely used in the qualifiers.
He revealed that shipping in Arsenal coaches to conduct coaching clinics for their Kenyan counterparts and giving players a platform through the SportPesa Cup which has also played a massive role in Stars’ qualification.
Karauri insists that the activities they have sponsored have directly contributed to their return in the Africa Cup of Nations 15 years down the line.
He said, “By the time we came in the game, people had lost hope and football had been abandoned. We started training camps for capacity building and got Arsenal coaches in the country. All these efforts have culminated in Stars qualification to the Afcon.”
Additionally, the firm sponsored a Kenyan Premier League All-Star team to the United Kingdom where they lost 2-1 to a Hull City select side in February 2017.
The team later played two more international friendlies in July in Spain losing 4-0 to Cordoba FC before bowing 1-0 to Sevilla Atletico.
Prior to the tax laws, the firm had undertaken to reward the national team Sh3 million for a win in the qualifiers.
The team received a similar amount for clinching the 2017 Cecafa Senior Challenge after edging Zanzibar on post-match penalties.
Through the SportPesa Cup, Gor Mahia players have had the rare chance of playing English Premier League side Everton twice and Kariobangi Sharks are looking forward to hosting the Merseyside-based team later in the year courtesy of their triumph in the Cup in January.
The administrator is still confident of Kenya making her maiden appearance in the continental showpiece in 2022 even though he admits the hike on taxes imposed by the government on gaming firms and lotteries in January 2018 had slowed their push.
“According to me, 2022 World Cup is still possible even though we slowed down a bit. However, we will still put more efforts and ensure as a country we qualify,” Karauri said.